Former Bihar chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's [Images] wife Rabri Devi on Monday said the RJD is ready to sit in the opposition benches of the assembly.

Her comment comes in the wake of fresh efforts made by the Janata Dal-United and the Lok Janshakti Party to form a popular government in Bihar.

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She told rediff.com over telephone that she is ready to assume the new role as opposition leader if someone manages to form government.

This is the first time after the February assembly election, which resulted in a hung House, that Rabri has admitted defeat.

The JD-U and the LJP are attempting to cobble together a non-RJD government. The JD-U has even made a common minimum programme and distanced itself from the BJP.

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The RJD will continue to fight for social justice, particularly for the rights of the poor and the backward sections, Rabri said.

"During the RJD's 15-year-rule, the poor and the backward got a voice to assert their rights, the state was free from communal trouble and Dalits were heard" Rabri claimed.